Bottle-handling equipment, such as closure-applying capping machines, must be configured for reliable, high-speed handling of containers, such as bottles or the like. While the particular configuration of such equipment will depend upon the specific containers or bottles being handled, as well as the specific closures being applied thereto, many applications require that each individual bottle be transported beneath a turret assembly which applies the closures in a continuous operation.
Transporting a bottle beneath a closure applying turret assembly typically is accomplished by a rotatable star wheel or center star wheel of the apparatus where the center star wheel includes an assembly for holding each bottle as it is conveyed during capping. As the bottle is moved by the center star wheel, a closure is provided to the bottle and a capping head of the turret assembly applies the closure to the bottle. After capping, the bottle is typically transferred to an output star wheel of the apparatus for subsequent handling, packaging, storage, and shipment.
Center star wheel assemblies typically include a plurality of pockets about their peripheries, one pocket each for a respective bottle. Each pocket of the center star wheel assembly includes top and bottom ledges for contact with the outside surface of each bottle near the top and bottom of the bottle. The top and bottom ledges engage the bottle during handling and conveying and typically are formed from plastic or similar material.
The top and bottom ledges of existing center star wheel assemblies are secured to a rotary table of the capping machine by numerous fasteners, spacers, mounting plates, and other components. In order to adjust the center star assembly to handle bottles of different sizes or to replace a worn center star assembly, the top ledge, bottom ledge, or both, must be removed and replaced along with other mounting fasteners and components.
The adjusting of center star assemblies is difficult and time consuming due to the number of fasteners, spacers and other components which must be removed and replaced. The close confines of the capping machine and associated bottle transporting mechanisms further complicate the adjustment procedure.
It therefore would be desirable to provide a center star assembly for use with a capping machine which can hold and transport a bottle or other container during application of an associated closure where the center star assembly readily can be replaced with another center star assembly for handling different size bottles or to replace a worn center star assembly where no fasteners or other mounting components are required to be removed and reinstalled.